By Alessio Ghirlanda
THE dog of an Andalusian mayor was fatally poisoned in what the official denounced as retaliation for cancelling a local ‘bull’ run.
Left-wing PSOE’s Juan Salvador Dominguez (pictured), mayor of Paterna del Campo near Huelva, posted to Instagram a photo of his dead German shepherd yesterday – calling the culprits ‘canallas’ (‘lowlifes’), ‘cowards’, and ‘sick’.
Dominguez decried the killing as an act of vengeance after the Andalucian regional government called off Paterna’s traditional ‘suelta de vaquillas’ over a missing document, he told local newspaper Cadena SER Huelva.
“People have spun this as if my administration wanted to cancel the bullfighting event,” he said.
“This has caused a backlash on social media and such an unusual level of hostility against me, but we did not want to cancel anything.”
READ MORE:
- Bullfighting’s protected status in Spain ‘to be reviewed by Congress’ after protestors gather 700,000 signatures
- ‘It’s not just self-righteous expats!’: Bullfighting protest challenges Spanish tradition outside Marbella bullring
- Is Bullfighting Undergoing a Revival? Over a million tune in as Morante de la Puebla rekindles Spain’s passion for the toros
He added: “And yet, last night I found my dog dead, foaming and bleeding from his mouth.”
“I just buried him this morning, you can imagine how I feel.”
On August 21, Dominguez explained in a Facebook video that all the necessary paperwork had been ‘duly submitted’ to the Andalucian government – but the body withheld the permit anyway.
He said: “This was out of our hands, we were set to go.”
In the statement, Dominguez stressed it would be impossible to hold the bull run without the regional government’s rubber stamp, and added the administration would organise an alternative event in the town’s bullring.
Several political figures have expressed support for Dominguez since the death of his dog.
Huelva’s PSOE branch wrote on Instagram: “We strongly condemn the killing of [Dominguez’s] dog.
“Violence can never be a response or retaliation.”
Miguel Angel Curiel, former mayor of Hinojos in Andalucia, said: “Poisoning a dog, attacking a home, or sowing fear can never be part of the public life of someone who works 24 hours a day for their town.”
He added: “To anyone who behaves in this way we must say, loud and clear: this is not the right path.”
The ‘suelta de vaquillas‘ is a popular bullfighting event in Spain in which cows or young heifers are released into a bullring or on the street so the public can run with them or dodge them.
While the practice is protected as cultural heritage in Spain, the number of bullfighting events held nationwide dropped by almost 60% between 2007 and 2022, according to Spain’s Ministry of Culture and Sport.
A 2025 Fundacion BBVA survey showed that 77% of Spaniards oppose bullfighting.
The region of Catalunya had passed a ban on bullfighting back in 2010 – but it was later overturned by Spain’s Constitutional Court in 2016.
The Canary Island’s 1991 ban, however, remains in force.
Click here to read more Andalucia News from The Olive Press.
